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Environment

EPA Orders Dow To Speed Cleanup

July 9, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 28

EPA has ordered Dow Chemical to begin cleaning up three dioxin-contaminated "hot spots" downstream of its 1,900-acre Midland, Mich., complex on the Tittabawassee River. Dow's plan to clean up the site, promised in 2003, "has taken too long," according to the federal agency. The action requires Dow to start field work by Aug. 15. "Cleanup must take place in a significant portion of the Upper Tittabawassee River this construction season," EPA said in a statement. In November 2006, Dow identified three hot spots along a 6-mile stretch of the river contaminated with dioxin levels "far in excess of state and federal requirements," according to EPA. The areas of concern are subject to flooding and erosion that could spread the contamination, the agency says. Dow will comply with the cleanup order and is negotiating final terms with EPA, company spokesman John Musser says. The company has "already agreed to do much of what EPA is asking," he notes. Dow has been working with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to design and implement a cleanup plan.

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